Evacuation plans are in place as a weakened Cyclone Ingrid heads towards the western side of Cape York Peninsula.

The cyclone has been downgraded to a category three system since it made landfall south of Lockhart River this morning.

At last report, Ingrid was about 55 kilometres south of Lockhart River and moving west at 10 kilometres an hour.

Phil Alford from the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre says the cyclone is heading towards Weipa and Kowanyama on the western side of Cape York.

"By the time it gets over there it should be about category one so it won't have destructive winds over that side really," Mr Alford said.

"They'll be more damaging [rather than destructive] winds which will do less damage. They might knock down some branches onto houses."

The State Emergency Service says there is only minor damage in the area and people have been allowed to return to their homes.

A cyclone warning remains current for communities between Cape Grenville and Cape Melville and extends inland across Cape York Peninsula to the east coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria between Mapoon and Cape Keerweer.

'Blowing pretty hard'

A Cape York cattleman says strong winds and rain from Cyclone Ingrid have belted the region, bringing down trees and forcing residents to seek shelter inside.

Neville Jackson, who manages Wolverton Station north of Coen, says the core of the cyclone passed directly over his homestead about 11:30am.

"It's been blowing pretty hard - there's trees down, blown down pretty much all around the place here and the rain was coming at pretty well a horizontal angle," he said.

"A few sheets of iron got a bit loose and flew around but otherwise she's held up pretty good."

The owner of a remote Cape York Peninsula roadhouse has also told how he felt like he was in the eye of Cyclone Ingrid.

Brad Allan from the Archer River Roadhouse says locals are sitting tight inside and keeping in touch with nearby stations.

"Gusts are quite strong and we're starting to get quite a few limbs coming out of trees and that sort of stuff," he said. But - touch wood - we haven't got any structural damage to any buildings or anything like that."

People at Lockhart River Aboriginal Community had prepared for the worst as Ingrid crossed the coast this morning, but resident Steve Goult says the community has escaped major damage.

"We're all sitting around waiting for the trees flying through the sky and stuff, and it was quite tame," Mr Goult said.

Code Blue

Gary Kleidon, the chief executive of the Aurukun Shire Council in western Cape York, says evacuation plans are in place.

"We've been watching the cyclone for a number of days and started to make preparations in the town regarding cleaning up and clearing up of any dangerous objects and other things, so we're quite well advanced," Mr Kleidon said.

Weipa's town committee chairman, Michael Rowland, says a 'Code Blue' alert has been declared, and residents and workers at Comalco's nearby bauxite mine have begun to take precautionary measures.

"Some of the trucks have to be filled with bauxite so that they don't become a problem," he said.

"There's a lot of work that needs to be done there just in preparation - there are issues that affect the airport, the harbour and things like that."